Polish People's Army

Armia Ludowa (AL, or People's Army) was a partisan force created by the Soviet controlled Comintern affiliate organisation called Polish Workers' Party during World War II. Its aims were to support the USSR military against the German forces and the creation of a Soviet controlled communist regime in Poland[1].

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Details

Resistance movement

On January 1, 1944, the National Council of the Country – (Krajowa Rada Narodowa or KRN) replaced the People's Guard – 9Gwardia Ludowa or GL) with People's Army (Armia Ludowa, or AL). The KRN intended to gain volunteers from other groups, however they weren't successful.

In the beginning the organisation numbered 10,000 members, at the end of July 1944 when much of Poland was occupied by Soviet forces approximately 30,000 members remained in the occupied territories, with 6,000 of them being active full-time partisans against the Germans.[2]

Army

Seven months after it came into existence, on July 21, 1944, AL was integrated with the Polish Military in the USSR and renamed the Polish People's Military – (Ludowe Wojsko Polskie or LWP). After the Red Army and communist-backed 1st Polish Army captured Poland in 1944 and early 1945, most of the AL members joined the latter. After the war most of its members have joined the ranks of Ministry of Public Security in Communist Poland, dedicated to eradication of the former independence movement and enforcing Soviet control over Poland.[3],[4]